Today i decided to make the most of my day as it was my last full day in dublin, so i went into the city and purchased a ticket to the guided bus tour of Dublin, i had a wonderful time jumping on and off the bus at certain points and just learning about the city from a true irishman who knew his stuff. The way things had worked out the previous night i knew taht i wanted to aim to get back to the hostel around the evening so that i could meet up with my friends and go out together, so i knew i had an extra hour and half or so to kill and when the Bus driver/ Tour guide mentioned the stop at the Jamesson Distillery and the amazing quality of the tour i knew just how to spend that time.
The Jamesson distillery tour was by far the best tour i have been on. the guide was quite informed she loved the product ( which she pronounced jaa-mmmm-ehhh-san) and the investment that the company had made in all the entire tour from beginning to end was quite evident. the bus driver had also suggested to our tour that at the beginning of the tour when the guide asks for volunteers it is important for us volunteer as we will get to participate in a whiskey tasting. so when the guide asked for volunteers i volunteered aned got to participate in a whiskey tasting of a blabk label scotch, regular 12 year matured jamesson, and johnny walker. I learned that in order to truly enjoy whiskey when you drink it, it is imperative to put a few drops of water in the drink in order to bring out the full flavor and i learned that oak is the best and preffered wood to use in the casks that help the whiskey mature over the years.
After that tour i jumped back on another tour bus and made my way back to the hostel after a quick dinner where i met up with my french friends again. at first i was disappointed because i had been very excited to go on a literary pub crawly where the actors performed works from famous irish authors as part of the drinking experience but i relented when they suggested to me that we go on another pub crawl instead known as the backpacker pub crawl. this pub crawl started out at right outside of trinity university, and we got to visit places like the trinity university pub which serves the cheapest beer in all of dublin. we got to visit a viking themed pub. we got to visit a traditional old Irish pub where we heard stories about how some man lost his leg, and we got to visit a dance club, on this tour i met a whole bunch of other cool tourists and we all exchanged facebook information and are now in contact, on our way home some Irish girls started yelling at us about something or other luckily we ignored them and continued walking because apparently Irish girls can hold their own in a fight. thus ended my last night, night 3 in dublin
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Dublin Day 2
Today i woke up and feeling much refreshed made my way down to the free breakfast which turned out to be free toast and coffee, but no matter i was still satisfied. While down at the breakfast room with many of the other borders at the hostel i inquiered as to what would be the best and cheapest tourist things for me to do while i was in Dublin for the short time that i was. The first thing that became immidiately apparent was that any trips would take up my entire trip as most places were a days drive away and i only had about 2 1/2 days in Dublin so trips out of Dublin were out but as i discovered there was plenty to do in the city intself.
Everyone who i talked to in the hostel and everyone i have talked to who has visited dublin has all told me the same thing, that i must go and visit the Guiness Brewery during my time in Dublin, and after some converstaion with some fo the americans bording there i disvoered that the brewery was walking distance from our hostel which was good news because as i discovered everything in Ireland is very expensive espcially for an American traveling on the Dollar. as i walked around i familiarized myself with the city a little bit and learned where the gigantic flagpole was, and where the bridges were, all of which you will see plenty of in the pictures which i will post in a little bit. Once i had my bearing i began to make my way toward the brewery, and while Dublin is not nearly as confusing as Amsterdam that is not to say that it is easy to find your way around there. after finally finding my way and getting lost about 10 times i made my way to the brewery and had a very nice time touring there and even got to learn how to pull the perfect pint of Guiness for which i still have a certificate, i realized i was hungry and did not want to spend a large amount of money on one of the fancy restaurants in the brewery. So i went searching for cheap food and discovred that in Ireland many pubs only serve drinks and not food, so after some careful investigation i found a local place known as The Pale where not only did they have quality beer but they also had quality food.
While at the pale i met a few really cool old Irish men who were they and all excited because there was about to be an exciting game of hurling ( which is a crazy cross between soccer, rugby, football, field hookey, and lacrosse but much more violent and intense) between Kildare (the underdog) and another team whose name i cant remember. There was only one crazy old guy in the pub who really oloved Kildare and was cheering them on but he made the rest of the pub look like they didnt care at all about the game. also during that time i discovered that even though the Irish claim that they speak english it is very difficult to actually understand their version of the language as they have both very heavy accents and intersperse Celtic words in their everyday speech. Once i finished at the pale i made my way back to the hostel before i got caught in the daily downpour in Dublin, once i made it back i met my new french roomates who wanted to go out together in the evening, i agreed to go out after a short nap and so about an hour alter we made our way to an area of Ireland known as Temple Bar where all of the tourists go at night. we had a fun night watching the olydmpics and waging as to which country was going to do the best (GO AMERICA) and at about 1:30 got kicked out of the club as that is when the new curfew they had just instituted took effect, and made our way back to the hostel where i slept well and happily because i had had a good day in Ireland after yesterdays terrible experience.
Everyone who i talked to in the hostel and everyone i have talked to who has visited dublin has all told me the same thing, that i must go and visit the Guiness Brewery during my time in Dublin, and after some converstaion with some fo the americans bording there i disvoered that the brewery was walking distance from our hostel which was good news because as i discovered everything in Ireland is very expensive espcially for an American traveling on the Dollar. as i walked around i familiarized myself with the city a little bit and learned where the gigantic flagpole was, and where the bridges were, all of which you will see plenty of in the pictures which i will post in a little bit. Once i had my bearing i began to make my way toward the brewery, and while Dublin is not nearly as confusing as Amsterdam that is not to say that it is easy to find your way around there. after finally finding my way and getting lost about 10 times i made my way to the brewery and had a very nice time touring there and even got to learn how to pull the perfect pint of Guiness for which i still have a certificate, i realized i was hungry and did not want to spend a large amount of money on one of the fancy restaurants in the brewery. So i went searching for cheap food and discovred that in Ireland many pubs only serve drinks and not food, so after some careful investigation i found a local place known as The Pale where not only did they have quality beer but they also had quality food.
While at the pale i met a few really cool old Irish men who were they and all excited because there was about to be an exciting game of hurling ( which is a crazy cross between soccer, rugby, football, field hookey, and lacrosse but much more violent and intense) between Kildare (the underdog) and another team whose name i cant remember. There was only one crazy old guy in the pub who really oloved Kildare and was cheering them on but he made the rest of the pub look like they didnt care at all about the game. also during that time i discovered that even though the Irish claim that they speak english it is very difficult to actually understand their version of the language as they have both very heavy accents and intersperse Celtic words in their everyday speech. Once i finished at the pale i made my way back to the hostel before i got caught in the daily downpour in Dublin, once i made it back i met my new french roomates who wanted to go out together in the evening, i agreed to go out after a short nap and so about an hour alter we made our way to an area of Ireland known as Temple Bar where all of the tourists go at night. we had a fun night watching the olydmpics and waging as to which country was going to do the best (GO AMERICA) and at about 1:30 got kicked out of the club as that is when the new curfew they had just instituted took effect, and made our way back to the hostel where i slept well and happily because i had had a good day in Ireland after yesterdays terrible experience.
Amsterdam Day 4 - Ireland Day 1
Today was my last Day in Amsterdam so i wanted to make the most of it, me and Valentijn both planned to do all these exciting things so i woke up quite motivated to get on with it. When i woke up however the sun seemed awefully bright for the morning so i checked the time and quickly realized trhat we had severly overslept and that we had to leave right away in order for me to be able to make it to the airport.
Once up and going we took the tram to the central train station, and from there made our way to the airport. The airport itself was nowhere near as straightforward as most of the airports i am used to, and i was very gald that valentijn was with me both for navigational reasons and due to the fact that many of the signs were only in dutch. Once we parted and i made my way onto the plane i reflected on what a fun time i had in amsterdam with my cousins and hoped that i could visit again soon.
As Amsterdam and Ireland are not very far away from one another i was not expecting a very long plane ride and spent the entire time reading luckily i had a book i was only halfway through. as we approached the airport the captain came on the speakers and announced "hello passengers this is your captain, we are above the Dublin airport but have been put in a holding pattern we should be landing shortly" about 15 minutes later we land and the airport makes its way onto the tarmac and its parking spot when the captain comes on again once we have parked "Hello Passengers although the tower directed me to a specific parking spot in which i should park it turns out that flights from amsterdam have a specifilly designated area which they must pass through a special customs investigation in order to enter the country, please remain in your seats and patient as me and the airport control attempt to work out this problem." about an hour later of just sitting in our seats the pilot finally officially welcomes us to dublin and informs us that it is raining very heavily. we do not get any tunnel or beridge instead we take the stairs off of the airplane in the incredibly heavy downpour and run into the airport itself.
Once in the airport we quickly all grab our bags and make for the exit already quite late, i get a text message from my hostel booking service with all of the information of the hostel where i am staying, which was quite useful as i had forgotten to print out and bring with me the information. i call the hostel and get the information as to where to go and how to get there, i make my way to the bus station and see that only 2 buses are there and are packed but are not moving, finally 2 of them get going another one pulls up but instead of loading people on simply has an out of service display on his screen, after a quick conversation with him i realize that there is absolutaly terrible flooding everywhere and that a trip that normally takes him 45 minutes took him 2 hours to make and that there will be no buses for quite a while.
so i sit on one of those portable luggage racks and read my book while i am waiting, luckily i finish the book as the bus that i need pulls up, and using all of my crafty obnoxious israeli cutting in line skills, i make sure that i make my way onto this bus, once on i and all of the other passenger are soaking wet and on a crowded hot bus which is not too much fun but at least i know i am finally on my way. as we are dribing i see that in places the water level is so high that cars are actually floating away which is not a good sign. we finally make it to the stop 2 stops away from where i am supposed to get off when the bus driver decides to announces that this is the "last stop everybody off" so i end up walking for about half a mile in the pouring rain with all of my luggage trying to make it to my hostel. I finally get there and see a full house sign and thank g-d that i booked my room ahead of time on the internet. I get in and really do want to go out and have fun but realize i am exhausted so i go to the supermarket buy some food because i havent eaten since me and valentijn grabbed some fast food on the way to the airport and after meeting some of my italian roomates go straight to sleep. not the best way to start my Ireland experience however I go to sleep knowing that i have made it and despite everything things might look better in the morning.
Once up and going we took the tram to the central train station, and from there made our way to the airport. The airport itself was nowhere near as straightforward as most of the airports i am used to, and i was very gald that valentijn was with me both for navigational reasons and due to the fact that many of the signs were only in dutch. Once we parted and i made my way onto the plane i reflected on what a fun time i had in amsterdam with my cousins and hoped that i could visit again soon.
As Amsterdam and Ireland are not very far away from one another i was not expecting a very long plane ride and spent the entire time reading luckily i had a book i was only halfway through. as we approached the airport the captain came on the speakers and announced "hello passengers this is your captain, we are above the Dublin airport but have been put in a holding pattern we should be landing shortly" about 15 minutes later we land and the airport makes its way onto the tarmac and its parking spot when the captain comes on again once we have parked "Hello Passengers although the tower directed me to a specific parking spot in which i should park it turns out that flights from amsterdam have a specifilly designated area which they must pass through a special customs investigation in order to enter the country, please remain in your seats and patient as me and the airport control attempt to work out this problem." about an hour later of just sitting in our seats the pilot finally officially welcomes us to dublin and informs us that it is raining very heavily. we do not get any tunnel or beridge instead we take the stairs off of the airplane in the incredibly heavy downpour and run into the airport itself.
Once in the airport we quickly all grab our bags and make for the exit already quite late, i get a text message from my hostel booking service with all of the information of the hostel where i am staying, which was quite useful as i had forgotten to print out and bring with me the information. i call the hostel and get the information as to where to go and how to get there, i make my way to the bus station and see that only 2 buses are there and are packed but are not moving, finally 2 of them get going another one pulls up but instead of loading people on simply has an out of service display on his screen, after a quick conversation with him i realize that there is absolutaly terrible flooding everywhere and that a trip that normally takes him 45 minutes took him 2 hours to make and that there will be no buses for quite a while.
so i sit on one of those portable luggage racks and read my book while i am waiting, luckily i finish the book as the bus that i need pulls up, and using all of my crafty obnoxious israeli cutting in line skills, i make sure that i make my way onto this bus, once on i and all of the other passenger are soaking wet and on a crowded hot bus which is not too much fun but at least i know i am finally on my way. as we are dribing i see that in places the water level is so high that cars are actually floating away which is not a good sign. we finally make it to the stop 2 stops away from where i am supposed to get off when the bus driver decides to announces that this is the "last stop everybody off" so i end up walking for about half a mile in the pouring rain with all of my luggage trying to make it to my hostel. I finally get there and see a full house sign and thank g-d that i booked my room ahead of time on the internet. I get in and really do want to go out and have fun but realize i am exhausted so i go to the supermarket buy some food because i havent eaten since me and valentijn grabbed some fast food on the way to the airport and after meeting some of my italian roomates go straight to sleep. not the best way to start my Ireland experience however I go to sleep knowing that i have made it and despite everything things might look better in the morning.
Amsterdam Day 3
Today i woke up at about 3pm and took a shower and prepared to meet Valentijn's Father Baas and his mother. Once all showered and prepared we took a tram which runs on the street and is a crazy hybrid of car and train, to the other side of Amsterdam where Baas lives and had a dinner with the relatives whom I had only met once before when i was very young.
About 3/4 of the way through the meal Valentijn had to leave because he was scheduled to work a shift at his job, as a bartender, he gave me directions back to his house and the name of his bar so I could find him later at my convienience. I spent more than an hour at the house just talking and reminiscing about old family stories and traditions as well as trying to fit together different pieces of the family puzzle. Once we were all talked out, Baas offered to drive me dback to Valentijns, to which i promptly agreed. Apparently in Amsterdam there is a program called Green Wheels where you can reserve a car for a few hours to drive and then park it in a specific parking spot once you are finished using it, the program is brilliant in that it uses really advanced technology to book the car and helped save on the hassle of parking which is a big problem in amsterdam and on carbon emissions. anyway We got to the Green Wheels car and i got a ride home all the while admiring Amsterdam. once we got to Valentijns apartment i let myself in and got changed for the evening. After I had gotten some food and very basic directions I made my way to velntijns bar, I took a cab who got me very close to the place but was not sure exactly where specificly Valentijns place was located, so i spent about 5 minutes looking around and could not find the place so i began asking people how to get there. I asked 2 people who i probably shouldnt have because they looked like complete idiots and they told me that the bar was a 15 minute walk in the opposite direction, i started to walk that way and realized that not only had they given me terrible directions but i did not trust them at all either so i asked a bike cab ( these cab that are actually operated by footpower rather than a moter) if he could take me there, the man agreed and set off, although after a minute he turned back and went the other way saying he didnt think that the directions i gave him were correct, in the end he stopped right where we had left off he walked up to one of the bouncers at the bar right next to us and asked him how to get to the bar, turned out it was nextdoor, so the guy gets back into the drivers seat moves about 5 feet and then turns around smiles and says "were here" well after some arguing i gave him his minimum 5 Euro fee and went into the bar where i met up with both Valentijn and his Cousin Jakob and ended up hanging out there until about 5 am. Once we got back we went to sleep with all sorts of great plans as to what we will do on my last day in Amsterdam.
About 3/4 of the way through the meal Valentijn had to leave because he was scheduled to work a shift at his job, as a bartender, he gave me directions back to his house and the name of his bar so I could find him later at my convienience. I spent more than an hour at the house just talking and reminiscing about old family stories and traditions as well as trying to fit together different pieces of the family puzzle. Once we were all talked out, Baas offered to drive me dback to Valentijns, to which i promptly agreed. Apparently in Amsterdam there is a program called Green Wheels where you can reserve a car for a few hours to drive and then park it in a specific parking spot once you are finished using it, the program is brilliant in that it uses really advanced technology to book the car and helped save on the hassle of parking which is a big problem in amsterdam and on carbon emissions. anyway We got to the Green Wheels car and i got a ride home all the while admiring Amsterdam. once we got to Valentijns apartment i let myself in and got changed for the evening. After I had gotten some food and very basic directions I made my way to velntijns bar, I took a cab who got me very close to the place but was not sure exactly where specificly Valentijns place was located, so i spent about 5 minutes looking around and could not find the place so i began asking people how to get there. I asked 2 people who i probably shouldnt have because they looked like complete idiots and they told me that the bar was a 15 minute walk in the opposite direction, i started to walk that way and realized that not only had they given me terrible directions but i did not trust them at all either so i asked a bike cab ( these cab that are actually operated by footpower rather than a moter) if he could take me there, the man agreed and set off, although after a minute he turned back and went the other way saying he didnt think that the directions i gave him were correct, in the end he stopped right where we had left off he walked up to one of the bouncers at the bar right next to us and asked him how to get to the bar, turned out it was nextdoor, so the guy gets back into the drivers seat moves about 5 feet and then turns around smiles and says "were here" well after some arguing i gave him his minimum 5 Euro fee and went into the bar where i met up with both Valentijn and his Cousin Jakob and ended up hanging out there until about 5 am. Once we got back we went to sleep with all sorts of great plans as to what we will do on my last day in Amsterdam.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Amsterdam Day 2
Today was my first full day in amsterdam yesterday by the time I had landed and gotten myself all sorted out it was already evening and so i didnt get to experience much however i did stay out all night so the morning mostly passed me by as well. Once i woke up at about 2pm, valentijn told me that today he was going to take me on the inside tour of amsterdam so instead of just getting a tour bus or something like that i had my own personal tour guide do an explerary job of showing me around.
We went to many places, to be perfectly honest the names of most of the places confused me at the time because dutch is a very difficult language and it does not always make sense, we did wander all around amsterdam we went to some canals debated whether or not to rent a boat but in the end decided it was not worth it. we had some middle eastern turkish food to eat which was delicious and filling. We then spent much of the day going to valentijns favorite hangout spots and meeting up with his friends, which was a lot of walking and a lot of fun.
This tour continued until about 5pm at which point we decided to head home and get changed for the evening, when we went out again. this time we went to totally different bars never repeating our experiences twice but having a good time everywhere we went, the truth is that again the names of most of the bars that we went to were in dutch so i had a hard time figuring out exactly what and where they were because at this point i had discovered that amsterdam is one of the most confusing cities i have been in as its architechture is desinged to revolve around the canals in the city.
One highlight that does stand out in the night is that after the bar closed and we spent some time hanging out with a friend of valentijns named wendel who insisted that he knew of some bars that were still open at 5am so we took a 20 minute detour in the wrong direction only to discover that in fact we were not in luck and the bars were all closed, however the unanticipated benefit of this foray was that i got to discover a famous square that had statues all over just like in the picture of the night watch so i had a nice time admiring that. After our long detour there and back we got home 40 minutes later and both fell asleep because we were exhausted after a long day of hard work.
We went to many places, to be perfectly honest the names of most of the places confused me at the time because dutch is a very difficult language and it does not always make sense, we did wander all around amsterdam we went to some canals debated whether or not to rent a boat but in the end decided it was not worth it. we had some middle eastern turkish food to eat which was delicious and filling. We then spent much of the day going to valentijns favorite hangout spots and meeting up with his friends, which was a lot of walking and a lot of fun.
This tour continued until about 5pm at which point we decided to head home and get changed for the evening, when we went out again. this time we went to totally different bars never repeating our experiences twice but having a good time everywhere we went, the truth is that again the names of most of the bars that we went to were in dutch so i had a hard time figuring out exactly what and where they were because at this point i had discovered that amsterdam is one of the most confusing cities i have been in as its architechture is desinged to revolve around the canals in the city.
One highlight that does stand out in the night is that after the bar closed and we spent some time hanging out with a friend of valentijns named wendel who insisted that he knew of some bars that were still open at 5am so we took a 20 minute detour in the wrong direction only to discover that in fact we were not in luck and the bars were all closed, however the unanticipated benefit of this foray was that i got to discover a famous square that had statues all over just like in the picture of the night watch so i had a nice time admiring that. After our long detour there and back we got home 40 minutes later and both fell asleep because we were exhausted after a long day of hard work.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
England Day 9 - Amsterdam day 1
Today was my last day in England I woke up early packed all my bags, said a heartfelt goodbye to my cousin Daniel, after stealing a lot of his music. I then made my way cautiously via underground to my uncle and aunts house. once i was there we had some Grozinsky's Bagel which according to my father are the best bagel's ever, i am still unsure as to that assertion but will admit that they were delicious. After a quick tea and Bagels Breakfast we made our way to the Luton Airport which is the Smallest airport i have ever seen, they only have 1 terminal and a terrible boarding system worked out. after wandering the airport for a while with no clear and consice directions or help from anyone at all i realized that instead of a number my ticket said that i was at gate "tv" and i remembered that the lady at the counter had been complaining that her printer was not working so i started freaking out. after a few calmingh breaths and comforting answers from people in uniforms i began to understand that because the airport was so small they would not assign a gate until the plane pulled up, so i just sat down and waited next to gate 6. in the end the plane was boardingh at gate 7 so i got lucky and got to be one of the first in line which was great beacause i got my favorite, a window seat.
Once i landed in amsterdam the airport was the exact opposite, HUGE we walked and walked and walked, and then got stuck for a good 40 minutes waiting for the customs people to let us through the 3 booths that were operational for the 5 planes that had landed simultaneously, it was great...... NOT.
Once i had claimed my bag and made my way through the single exit, where all of the middle easterners thought they could push me around i got out and met up with my distant cousin on my moms side named valentijn (pronouned vanlentine) and his cousin Jacob. we immidiately got along and when Valentijn suggested that we drop off all my stuff at his place and then go to the beach i agreed wholeheartedly. we went into Amsterdam for my first time threw all of my bags into his apartment and then left quickly on our explorations. on our way out Valentijn tossed my a spare set of his keys just in case i needed to get in when he was not going to be around.
We got to the beach and spent some time at what valentine called a beach bar, where i discovered that in Holland everybody drinks Heineikin and so i participated. After the beach we made out way back to the city and started bar hopping. Valentijn however is a local guy and a bartender himself so bar hopping with him as his cousin is a very different experience that what most tourists get. the last bar that we went to we got to at approx 1.50 am and the bar closed at 2 am. it turned out however that the bar closing just meant that almost everybody had to leave and almost everybody had to stop drinking but, not us. We stayed at the bar until about 5:30 am when we left after drinking a lot of yager and a beer called Heinkein extra cold which is amazing, although my eyes were about to close we went to get some fast food before we called it a night, at the fast food stand there were a lot of israelies who kept trying to get me to cut in line for them and i kept telling them no. we walked back to valentijn's because at that time all public transport had stopped running that was my first night in amsterdam and the time was the earliest i would get to bed there.
Once i landed in amsterdam the airport was the exact opposite, HUGE we walked and walked and walked, and then got stuck for a good 40 minutes waiting for the customs people to let us through the 3 booths that were operational for the 5 planes that had landed simultaneously, it was great...... NOT.
Once i had claimed my bag and made my way through the single exit, where all of the middle easterners thought they could push me around i got out and met up with my distant cousin on my moms side named valentijn (pronouned vanlentine) and his cousin Jacob. we immidiately got along and when Valentijn suggested that we drop off all my stuff at his place and then go to the beach i agreed wholeheartedly. we went into Amsterdam for my first time threw all of my bags into his apartment and then left quickly on our explorations. on our way out Valentijn tossed my a spare set of his keys just in case i needed to get in when he was not going to be around.
We got to the beach and spent some time at what valentine called a beach bar, where i discovered that in Holland everybody drinks Heineikin and so i participated. After the beach we made out way back to the city and started bar hopping. Valentijn however is a local guy and a bartender himself so bar hopping with him as his cousin is a very different experience that what most tourists get. the last bar that we went to we got to at approx 1.50 am and the bar closed at 2 am. it turned out however that the bar closing just meant that almost everybody had to leave and almost everybody had to stop drinking but, not us. We stayed at the bar until about 5:30 am when we left after drinking a lot of yager and a beer called Heinkein extra cold which is amazing, although my eyes were about to close we went to get some fast food before we called it a night, at the fast food stand there were a lot of israelies who kept trying to get me to cut in line for them and i kept telling them no. we walked back to valentijn's because at that time all public transport had stopped running that was my first night in amsterdam and the time was the earliest i would get to bed there.
England Day 8
Today i again participated in the tour that i was supposed to go on last time, when i arrived at the Victoria Underground station with 20 minutes to spare i ended up being very happy that i was early because it turned out that i didnt want the victoria undeground station i wanted the coach station which was a totally different matter. After that little mixup i got to the station and found out that instead of sending me on the same tour again i was being sent on a tour that went to winchester, Bath, and Stonehenge instead of going to Windsor twice, which made me very happy because as long as i didnt miss the bus again this time it meant i got a free complementary trip to Windsor.
After plenty of delays as usual we set off and made our way to the Roman City of Bath where i spent 2 hour oogling eveything the roman baths that hgad been created many many years ago, and were thought to have mystical healing powers. I then stepped outside and found a whole beautifully designed city with heavy classical architechtural influences to traverse and explore. Right before i got back on the bus i decided that i was hungry and should eat now, so i went to a subway and discovered that everywhere but America does not have Bananana ( i already told you how to pronounce it) peppers which was a shame for my sandwitch but at least the tuna did not have as much Mayo as it normally does. After meandering Bath i made sure to be 15 minutes early for the bus departure, and ended up buying a book at a bookstore while waiting, which was nice.
Then i got on a bus and had a nice ride to stonehenge which was through tiny little winding country roads with the occasional "tank Crossing" signs next to the military bases. Stonehenge itself was magnificant, although it is very difficult to put my experience to words, the timeless ancient quality that such a monument posses is truly awe inspiring, the knowledge that this monument has withstood the test of time and confounded all modern engineers is a comfort to me, i like a little bit of mystique in some things. The monument stood so big and huge and exact that whenever i saw anyone stading next to it the just seemed dwarfed and inconsequential next to this enduring citadel of the ancients.
After stonhenge we made a trip to winchester where there is a cathedral but not a very exciting one. On the way to the cathedral i met the girl and her mother who were sitting behind me, they were a very nice indian family but i thought that the girl was hilarious not only was she smart cute and inquisitive but her name was Shlookah, and just imagine and indian mother reprimanding her daughter with Shlookah stop making all that noise ( i cant do the accent but it is much funnier if you imagine it). anyway once i got to winchester i didnt feel in the mood to be a tourist much longer and we only had 45 minutes to spend at the city so i just went to a pub and tried 2 new types of beer, one called a something blaq and one was a artois but not stella its name started with the letter P.
I caught the tour bus back to london and off we were. we made good time getting back to the city and then i made plans to meet up with my cousin Warren who was waiting to meet me in Finchley Central which is a stop on the underground. Up until now i had done very well for myself with the navigating of the underground and then on this day i made it very clear to myself that i was still a tourist, i got on the wrong underground train going to the wrong station and realized it soon enough that it was not too bad but added 10 minutes to my journey, then i got on the right underground train that was mislabeled so i thought it was the wrong undergreound train got off and then found out that i would have to wait another 10 minutes for the next one. Meanwhile when i am stuck underground in the tunnel i have no phone reception and my cousing Warren is wondering why i called him 40 minutes ago and told him i was beginning a 20 minute trip and had not called him yet so he started calling me and leaving messages.
Once i finally made and got there me and Warren spent the beginning of the night wandering Finchley Central and getting food, we had and indian Buffet followed by a few beer and a walk in the park, then my cousin daneil decided to join us and we went to another pub called the catcher in the the Rye and had a nice time there as well, the night ended late with all of us yawning and about to fall asleep i realized that this was my last night in England and was quite glad that i had had such a productive and nice day with good people.
After plenty of delays as usual we set off and made our way to the Roman City of Bath where i spent 2 hour oogling eveything the roman baths that hgad been created many many years ago, and were thought to have mystical healing powers. I then stepped outside and found a whole beautifully designed city with heavy classical architechtural influences to traverse and explore. Right before i got back on the bus i decided that i was hungry and should eat now, so i went to a subway and discovered that everywhere but America does not have Bananana ( i already told you how to pronounce it) peppers which was a shame for my sandwitch but at least the tuna did not have as much Mayo as it normally does. After meandering Bath i made sure to be 15 minutes early for the bus departure, and ended up buying a book at a bookstore while waiting, which was nice.
Then i got on a bus and had a nice ride to stonehenge which was through tiny little winding country roads with the occasional "tank Crossing" signs next to the military bases. Stonehenge itself was magnificant, although it is very difficult to put my experience to words, the timeless ancient quality that such a monument posses is truly awe inspiring, the knowledge that this monument has withstood the test of time and confounded all modern engineers is a comfort to me, i like a little bit of mystique in some things. The monument stood so big and huge and exact that whenever i saw anyone stading next to it the just seemed dwarfed and inconsequential next to this enduring citadel of the ancients.
After stonhenge we made a trip to winchester where there is a cathedral but not a very exciting one. On the way to the cathedral i met the girl and her mother who were sitting behind me, they were a very nice indian family but i thought that the girl was hilarious not only was she smart cute and inquisitive but her name was Shlookah, and just imagine and indian mother reprimanding her daughter with Shlookah stop making all that noise ( i cant do the accent but it is much funnier if you imagine it). anyway once i got to winchester i didnt feel in the mood to be a tourist much longer and we only had 45 minutes to spend at the city so i just went to a pub and tried 2 new types of beer, one called a something blaq and one was a artois but not stella its name started with the letter P.
I caught the tour bus back to london and off we were. we made good time getting back to the city and then i made plans to meet up with my cousin Warren who was waiting to meet me in Finchley Central which is a stop on the underground. Up until now i had done very well for myself with the navigating of the underground and then on this day i made it very clear to myself that i was still a tourist, i got on the wrong underground train going to the wrong station and realized it soon enough that it was not too bad but added 10 minutes to my journey, then i got on the right underground train that was mislabeled so i thought it was the wrong undergreound train got off and then found out that i would have to wait another 10 minutes for the next one. Meanwhile when i am stuck underground in the tunnel i have no phone reception and my cousing Warren is wondering why i called him 40 minutes ago and told him i was beginning a 20 minute trip and had not called him yet so he started calling me and leaving messages.
Once i finally made and got there me and Warren spent the beginning of the night wandering Finchley Central and getting food, we had and indian Buffet followed by a few beer and a walk in the park, then my cousin daneil decided to join us and we went to another pub called the catcher in the the Rye and had a nice time there as well, the night ended late with all of us yawning and about to fall asleep i realized that this was my last night in England and was quite glad that i had had such a productive and nice day with good people.
England Day 7
Today i went to visit some younger family in England my cousin Daniel Silverstein specificly, he lives in a suburb of london called Willsden Green which is a 2 minute walk from the underground station. I realized today that when i get up might be my only free time to pack for the rest of my england trip because i am going to be so busy, so i did my laundry and packed all of my bags, one overnight bag for my trip to Daniel Silverstein and my duffel bag was also packed and ready to be put on a plane.
Then i went to my cousin daniels house and it was fun. He is a rapper in a new band called lines of faith where he and a cool muslin guy named Muhammed are the 2 MC's (thats Mic Controllers or Rappers for those who dont know) when i got to daniels house he had just returned from a music festival and was tired, as was i because it was early in the morning so i took a nap while he prepared for a band meeting with muhammed, which was scheduled later that day.
Once I woke up i went on a walk of Daniel's neighboorhood and even found that there was some decent schwarma to be had in Willsden. Once i was walking i remembered that i should try calling the tour company that left me behind and maybe attempt to get some money back or some other form of recompensation. I called and complained and ended up getting another free tour offered to me the next day which worked out perfectly because i had the morning and aternoon free and i though that stonhenge and bath would be a great way to spend my last day.
When i got back from my walk Daniel and Muhammed had finished up with their meeting and me and Daniel went wandering london, first he showed me a park that had a great overatching view of all of london which was spectacular, and then we went to his favorite kosher restaurant run by israelies in a place called Golders Green which i like to fondly call little Israel. We got back tio Dan's place around midnight and decided to call it a night as i had to be up at 7 am that morning in order to make it downtown for the tour.
Then i went to my cousin daniels house and it was fun. He is a rapper in a new band called lines of faith where he and a cool muslin guy named Muhammed are the 2 MC's (thats Mic Controllers or Rappers for those who dont know) when i got to daniels house he had just returned from a music festival and was tired, as was i because it was early in the morning so i took a nap while he prepared for a band meeting with muhammed, which was scheduled later that day.
Once I woke up i went on a walk of Daniel's neighboorhood and even found that there was some decent schwarma to be had in Willsden. Once i was walking i remembered that i should try calling the tour company that left me behind and maybe attempt to get some money back or some other form of recompensation. I called and complained and ended up getting another free tour offered to me the next day which worked out perfectly because i had the morning and aternoon free and i though that stonhenge and bath would be a great way to spend my last day.
When i got back from my walk Daniel and Muhammed had finished up with their meeting and me and Daniel went wandering london, first he showed me a park that had a great overatching view of all of london which was spectacular, and then we went to his favorite kosher restaurant run by israelies in a place called Golders Green which i like to fondly call little Israel. We got back tio Dan's place around midnight and decided to call it a night as i had to be up at 7 am that morning in order to make it downtown for the tour.
England Day 6
Today me uncle laurie and auntie hazel all drove to weslcliff a city on the edge of the ocean to visit my auntie kitty and uncle mike. The drive up there from london took approx. an hour and a half, on the way i got to meet my cousin Helen who was also in the car with us and made for some nice conversation.
Once we arrived in Wescliff we spent some time at auntie kitty's and mike's apartment i had a sample of some whiskey and gigner and we had a nice time. once hunger assauged our senes we decided to go and get a bite to eat which we got at another local fish and chips place run by a turkish man. when we were leaving a display of antique vintage cars caught our eyes and we spent the next half hour to hour examining them closely which was also fun.
After the Trip i came home and meant to call the tour company but in the end got distracted by something (i forget what truly) and fell asleep. tommorow i go visit daniel silverstein.
Once we arrived in Wescliff we spent some time at auntie kitty's and mike's apartment i had a sample of some whiskey and gigner and we had a nice time. once hunger assauged our senes we decided to go and get a bite to eat which we got at another local fish and chips place run by a turkish man. when we were leaving a display of antique vintage cars caught our eyes and we spent the next half hour to hour examining them closely which was also fun.
After the Trip i came home and meant to call the tour company but in the end got distracted by something (i forget what truly) and fell asleep. tommorow i go visit daniel silverstein.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
England Day 5
Today started out much more promising as i was going to visit my Aunt shirely and this time i was sure that i was not going to get left behind. I got to the house at about 10:15 and spent some time having a cup of tea with Cousin Mark, Auntie Shirley and Brian. once we all had or wits about us we took a walk to the local underground station where we caught the metro line to london. we got off at the London Bridge station and entered the city for a bustling day.
Our first stop was the Bourough market which is the oldest market in london, while there we saw all sorts of crazy things, orange cauliflower, purple caulifower, truffles, exotic teas, exotic meats, and many more wonders. after about half an hour spend wandering through the market and protecting my backpack from pickpockets we walked out of the market and into the yard of a very nice church which had a large grassy picnic area right outside. we indulged in a fresh lunch consisting of nuts, homemade sandwitches, fresh strawberries apples and bannanas (in england pronounced bAAA-nAAAA-nAAAA-s) after our lunch I was intruiged by the church and so we decided to take a tour of the inside which turned out to be quite a piece of history, the church itself hgad been standing since approximately the 6th century and contained works from may different periods all very unique and old. After a quick walk around the church we headed out in the south bank to wander around for a little bit.
We passed a ship that was moored on the edge of the Thames (pronounced Temes) and took a nice walk around passing a place called the clink where prisoners spent much of their time before they were executed. After some more wandering around we ended up outside the reconstructed version of shakespeer's globe theatre where we went in and attended a play that was being put on in true shakespeerian spirit with the actors set and theatres as authenticlly shakespeerian as possible. We stayed for the first act of the play which was Tymon of Athens and then decided to leave and continue wandering aftyer which we went to the Tate Modern Art gallery which is a converted power plant that used to run on coal, after that we headed home because we were all exahusted.
Once i reached Home we had another quick cup of tea before i was picked up by Auntie Hazel and Uncle Laurie who treated me to my firwst official Fish and Chips in England at a local restuarant called the catch, I then went home and fell asleep.
Our first stop was the Bourough market which is the oldest market in london, while there we saw all sorts of crazy things, orange cauliflower, purple caulifower, truffles, exotic teas, exotic meats, and many more wonders. after about half an hour spend wandering through the market and protecting my backpack from pickpockets we walked out of the market and into the yard of a very nice church which had a large grassy picnic area right outside. we indulged in a fresh lunch consisting of nuts, homemade sandwitches, fresh strawberries apples and bannanas (in england pronounced bAAA-nAAAA-nAAAA-s) after our lunch I was intruiged by the church and so we decided to take a tour of the inside which turned out to be quite a piece of history, the church itself hgad been standing since approximately the 6th century and contained works from may different periods all very unique and old. After a quick walk around the church we headed out in the south bank to wander around for a little bit.
We passed a ship that was moored on the edge of the Thames (pronounced Temes) and took a nice walk around passing a place called the clink where prisoners spent much of their time before they were executed. After some more wandering around we ended up outside the reconstructed version of shakespeer's globe theatre where we went in and attended a play that was being put on in true shakespeerian spirit with the actors set and theatres as authenticlly shakespeerian as possible. We stayed for the first act of the play which was Tymon of Athens and then decided to leave and continue wandering aftyer which we went to the Tate Modern Art gallery which is a converted power plant that used to run on coal, after that we headed home because we were all exahusted.
Once i reached Home we had another quick cup of tea before i was picked up by Auntie Hazel and Uncle Laurie who treated me to my firwst official Fish and Chips in England at a local restuarant called the catch, I then went home and fell asleep.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
England Day 4
Today I woke up extra early because the tour bus left early in the morning we were out of the house by 6:45am and then I took a quick foray on the underground into the Euston station. Once I arrived I made my way to the Euston Hilton and waited there for the bus after a morning coffee to wake me up a little bit. Once it became apparant that the bus was going to be very late, we became impatient, and continued to call the tour station.
turn out the bus simply decided to skip us, so me and some friend of mine ffrom japan who were also particpating on the same tour ended up having to make our way to the Victoria bus station in centrail london in order to catch the bus. once we finally got there the bus left for Windsor.
Once we arrived in windsor i had a great time looking around and enjoying the scenery, i took a tour of the state apartments and walked around the Castle for a little taking a whole ton of pictures, i walked around the footpaths for a while, and then decided to head back to the bus about 15 minutes before it left. it took me another 10 minutes to realize that i was totally and completaly lost, because there were 2 different locations that people kept directing me to even though there was only 1 parking lot that the tour buses used. turns out that there is a central bus station that people in the town of Windsor use, and that is what people were directing me to.
with 10 minutes left until the bus leaves without me i called the tour company in a panic and said "help im nearby the bus parking lot but i dont exactly where I am can you give me diurections or connect me to someone who can?" the lady on the other line claimed that the bus was exactly where I was and hung up on me promising that she would call me right back, and 1 minutes passed, and 2 minutes passed, and 3 minutes passed, and 4 minutes passed and 5 minutes passed and i became impatient and decided to call her back because my bus was about to leave.
so when I call back i ask to talk to the same lady and she goes in a cheerfrul voice, "oh yeah the bus just left without you sorry" and she further calimed that i would have to make my own way back into london. after me and her exchanged some less than polite plesantries, all of the sudden magically the lady found another bus that was making its way to windsor a little bit later that could take me back to london but unfortunately thaere were no more buses that day that were traveling to stonehenge.
After being wuite unhappy and disappointed because i missed what probably would have been the best part of the tour I decided that since i am already stuck in windsor I might as well enjoy myself and proceeded to go to a pub and sample many of their different Beers and Ales which were top notch. I was later informed by someone i met at the pub that the pub i chose was part of a chain which is well known for its cheap beer and well priced food so thumbs up to me there although it doesnt quite compensate for my missin the tour bus.
After the bus ride full of traffic jams home I made it back just in time for friday night dinner which I had with Uncle Laurie and Auntie Hazel, and was quite delicious. in the middle of dinner i found myself very exahuasted and ended up falling asleep almost immidiately after.
thus ended Day 4 where i was supposed to go on a big tour and ended up only going on a small one.
Pictures are now posted i will put another slide show of them on the blog but have run out of room on the current album and was forced to make another, the pictures can be viewed by clicking here or by copying and pasting this link into your address bar http://picasaweb.google.com/adiamantcohen/AlonAbroad202
turn out the bus simply decided to skip us, so me and some friend of mine ffrom japan who were also particpating on the same tour ended up having to make our way to the Victoria bus station in centrail london in order to catch the bus. once we finally got there the bus left for Windsor.
Once we arrived in windsor i had a great time looking around and enjoying the scenery, i took a tour of the state apartments and walked around the Castle for a little taking a whole ton of pictures, i walked around the footpaths for a while, and then decided to head back to the bus about 15 minutes before it left. it took me another 10 minutes to realize that i was totally and completaly lost, because there were 2 different locations that people kept directing me to even though there was only 1 parking lot that the tour buses used. turns out that there is a central bus station that people in the town of Windsor use, and that is what people were directing me to.
with 10 minutes left until the bus leaves without me i called the tour company in a panic and said "help im nearby the bus parking lot but i dont exactly where I am can you give me diurections or connect me to someone who can?" the lady on the other line claimed that the bus was exactly where I was and hung up on me promising that she would call me right back, and 1 minutes passed, and 2 minutes passed, and 3 minutes passed, and 4 minutes passed and 5 minutes passed and i became impatient and decided to call her back because my bus was about to leave.
so when I call back i ask to talk to the same lady and she goes in a cheerfrul voice, "oh yeah the bus just left without you sorry" and she further calimed that i would have to make my own way back into london. after me and her exchanged some less than polite plesantries, all of the sudden magically the lady found another bus that was making its way to windsor a little bit later that could take me back to london but unfortunately thaere were no more buses that day that were traveling to stonehenge.
After being wuite unhappy and disappointed because i missed what probably would have been the best part of the tour I decided that since i am already stuck in windsor I might as well enjoy myself and proceeded to go to a pub and sample many of their different Beers and Ales which were top notch. I was later informed by someone i met at the pub that the pub i chose was part of a chain which is well known for its cheap beer and well priced food so thumbs up to me there although it doesnt quite compensate for my missin the tour bus.
After the bus ride full of traffic jams home I made it back just in time for friday night dinner which I had with Uncle Laurie and Auntie Hazel, and was quite delicious. in the middle of dinner i found myself very exahuasted and ended up falling asleep almost immidiately after.
thus ended Day 4 where i was supposed to go on a big tour and ended up only going on a small one.
Pictures are now posted i will put another slide show of them on the blog but have run out of room on the current album and was forced to make another, the pictures can be viewed by clicking here or by copying and pasting this link into your address bar http://picasaweb.google.com/adiamantcohen/AlonAbroad202
England Day 3
Hello everybody
Last night I acted foolishly and gave into my jet lag, I stayed up all night reading a book because I could not fall asleep and ended up spending the afternoon sleeping on my bed right outside the garden of Uncle Laurie.
When i woke up it was past 4 pm and i let loose with a ... WHOOPS and realized i would have to make the most of the rest of my day, so I started out by finishing the book.
After that i took a quick shower and prepared for a meal out that we were having with, Uncle Laurie cousin Nick and his fiancee Kate, Franches, Warren, Victoria, Auntie Hazel, and of course me. The meal was at a Kosher Chinease Restaurant named Chopstix in Golders Green, in an area i dubbed "Little Jerusalem" because before the meal i had some free time to wander around and ended up finding a Steimatsky israeli book store and I enjoyed having a chance to practice my hebrew which was quite a suprise, waling past the huka bars was quite pleasant suprise.
After more of narrow streets and tons of dirty israelies i realized I was late for dinner at the chinease restaurant, and so i waded my way through the sea of hebrew speakers and to my pleasant suprise discovered that in fact there were many non-jews in golders green as well, as uncle laurie pointed out to me later Golders Green is actually quite cosmopolitan.
After a lovely dinner of which the pictures will be posted as soon as I have the opportunity we wanderd around Golders Green for a little bit and then went home and then went to sleep preparing for the next day When i booked a ticket to take a tour of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the Roman city of Bath.
Last night I acted foolishly and gave into my jet lag, I stayed up all night reading a book because I could not fall asleep and ended up spending the afternoon sleeping on my bed right outside the garden of Uncle Laurie.
When i woke up it was past 4 pm and i let loose with a ... WHOOPS and realized i would have to make the most of the rest of my day, so I started out by finishing the book.
After that i took a quick shower and prepared for a meal out that we were having with, Uncle Laurie cousin Nick and his fiancee Kate, Franches, Warren, Victoria, Auntie Hazel, and of course me. The meal was at a Kosher Chinease Restaurant named Chopstix in Golders Green, in an area i dubbed "Little Jerusalem" because before the meal i had some free time to wander around and ended up finding a Steimatsky israeli book store and I enjoyed having a chance to practice my hebrew which was quite a suprise, waling past the huka bars was quite pleasant suprise.
After more of narrow streets and tons of dirty israelies i realized I was late for dinner at the chinease restaurant, and so i waded my way through the sea of hebrew speakers and to my pleasant suprise discovered that in fact there were many non-jews in golders green as well, as uncle laurie pointed out to me later Golders Green is actually quite cosmopolitan.
After a lovely dinner of which the pictures will be posted as soon as I have the opportunity we wanderd around Golders Green for a little bit and then went home and then went to sleep preparing for the next day When i booked a ticket to take a tour of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the Roman city of Bath.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
England Day 2
Today as i was still suffering slightly from jetlag i decided to take it easy, me and my guide Uncle Laurie traveled into leicester square in london via the 142 bus and the london underground which I found out is enormous. Once getting into town we walked over to trafalgar square and wondered around for alittle. After that i bought a ticket to a local double decker tour bus and took a tour of london.
When we passed Westminster Abbey i was so impressed with the size and beauty of the building as well as its reputation that i felt a need to get off of the bus and explore the place. I ended up paying the admission fee and entering the Abbey where I tagged along with a tour for a while and listened to a pre-recorded tour on headphones. while wondering around i noticed that a lot of the art in westmister Abbey bore striking similarities to many Greek and Roman works only at the Abbey the works depicted the saints while in Greek anad Roman society generally the work involved Greko-Roman gods.
After i left the Abbey i was a little hungry so I went to a local pub called the sanctuary where I had a cup of Londons Pride Ale and a spinach cheese and something else i cant remember piece of lasanga. While i was eating i also had teh opportunity to watch a game of cricket of TV although i had no idea what was going on the fans of the game seemed quite intennslyo into it and were cheering on the team who i beleive was the british national team (does any other nation even play cricket?)
After my meal i went back to westminster and caught the tour bus again this time traveling all around the london bridge area which i found out was bough by an american from Arizona. once the bus got to trafalgar sqaure I caught the train from leicester square back to edware where i was picked up by my Auntie Hazel.
After a quick nap at home instead of eating in we decided to take a walk to a nearby indian restaurant named the sanargaon restaurant where we had a lovely authentic (British) indian meal. After the meal we took a nice walk back home, so far the weather here has been fantastic with no rain only breezy sunshines i hope my luck continues to tommorow although i hear that there are predicted thunderstorms so i guess I will just have to wait and see.
in other bews i have begun posting picture however the computer I am using right now will only let me upload 5 pictures at a time so it is quite and arduous task so far the pictures that i have uploaded can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/adiamantcohen/AlonGoesAbroad I am still at work on a way to link my facebook pictures to my picasa profile and i think i have found a solution but will only be able to deal with it tommorow as it is already 11:40pm here and i am exhausted.
cheerio for now
Alon
When we passed Westminster Abbey i was so impressed with the size and beauty of the building as well as its reputation that i felt a need to get off of the bus and explore the place. I ended up paying the admission fee and entering the Abbey where I tagged along with a tour for a while and listened to a pre-recorded tour on headphones. while wondering around i noticed that a lot of the art in westmister Abbey bore striking similarities to many Greek and Roman works only at the Abbey the works depicted the saints while in Greek anad Roman society generally the work involved Greko-Roman gods.
After i left the Abbey i was a little hungry so I went to a local pub called the sanctuary where I had a cup of Londons Pride Ale and a spinach cheese and something else i cant remember piece of lasanga. While i was eating i also had teh opportunity to watch a game of cricket of TV although i had no idea what was going on the fans of the game seemed quite intennslyo into it and were cheering on the team who i beleive was the british national team (does any other nation even play cricket?)
After my meal i went back to westminster and caught the tour bus again this time traveling all around the london bridge area which i found out was bough by an american from Arizona. once the bus got to trafalgar sqaure I caught the train from leicester square back to edware where i was picked up by my Auntie Hazel.
After a quick nap at home instead of eating in we decided to take a walk to a nearby indian restaurant named the sanargaon restaurant where we had a lovely authentic (British) indian meal. After the meal we took a nice walk back home, so far the weather here has been fantastic with no rain only breezy sunshines i hope my luck continues to tommorow although i hear that there are predicted thunderstorms so i guess I will just have to wait and see.
in other bews i have begun posting picture however the computer I am using right now will only let me upload 5 pictures at a time so it is quite and arduous task so far the pictures that i have uploaded can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/adiamantcohen/AlonGoesAbroad I am still at work on a way to link my facebook pictures to my picasa profile and i think i have found a solution but will only be able to deal with it tommorow as it is already 11:40pm here and i am exhausted.
cheerio for now
Alon
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Trip Begins
Today I have landed in Heathrow with only a few relatively insignificant glitches. Since I only have a very limited amount of time to spend in England i have decided to make the most of it.
It was strange being the outsider today, instead of laughing at my British relatives who always attempt to sit in the drivers seat thinking it is the passengers seat i ended up trying to sit in my aunts drivers seat twice before figuring out that everything here is the opposite. at the beginning when I was being driven home from the airport i had to close my eyes and reorient myself slightly because while my uncle is a great driver i kept thinking we were about to crash because we were obeying crazy traffic laws.
After landing today we went to a Kosher Bakery a few minutes drive away from my aunt and uncles house and had some authentic British bagels (pronounced Bai-gels). Then after a quick renewing nap we took a trip into Watford where we visited a new mall called Harlequin and went to the virgin store to pick up a sim card for my cellphone. wow prices in the UK for making phone calls and sending text messages are much higher than those in America, there is nothing like traveling abroad to help broaden your appreciation of home. After spending some quality time in the mall we drove back home still on the wrong side of the road and i started planning my trip more intensively, while enjoying homemade Ice cream made by none other than Auntie Hazel.
Although I am tired this trip is so exhilarating that my exhaustion I know will only be temporary.
pictures are soon to follow
Cheers
Alon
It was strange being the outsider today, instead of laughing at my British relatives who always attempt to sit in the drivers seat thinking it is the passengers seat i ended up trying to sit in my aunts drivers seat twice before figuring out that everything here is the opposite. at the beginning when I was being driven home from the airport i had to close my eyes and reorient myself slightly because while my uncle is a great driver i kept thinking we were about to crash because we were obeying crazy traffic laws.
After landing today we went to a Kosher Bakery a few minutes drive away from my aunt and uncles house and had some authentic British bagels (pronounced Bai-gels). Then after a quick renewing nap we took a trip into Watford where we visited a new mall called Harlequin and went to the virgin store to pick up a sim card for my cellphone. wow prices in the UK for making phone calls and sending text messages are much higher than those in America, there is nothing like traveling abroad to help broaden your appreciation of home. After spending some quality time in the mall we drove back home still on the wrong side of the road and i started planning my trip more intensively, while enjoying homemade Ice cream made by none other than Auntie Hazel.
Although I am tired this trip is so exhilarating that my exhaustion I know will only be temporary.
pictures are soon to follow
Cheers
Alon
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Dublin
Hello again everybody
Thank you for all of your responses so far, I appreciate your help and hospitality to no end. As I am planning this trip Ireland specifically Dublin remains the only place where i will have to stay in a hostel. If necessary this is not a big deal however if anyone is aware of any alternative places to stay, perhaps some friends or family who would be willing to host a traveling college student for 2 days i would be most appreciative for their help.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Preparations nearing completion
Hello all
for the past few months i have been halfheartedly preparing for my trip abroad, last month i finally got my act together and began booking tickets. As of today i have many finalized details i would like to share with people and have been trying to decide the best way to do so because the information i have is not all gathered together in one place.
My Travels will begin on Monday July 28th and will end on Tuesday August 26th.
I will be in England between July 28th to August 6th
and
I will be in Amsterdam between August 6th and August 9th
and
I will be in Dublin between August 9th and August 12th
and
I will be in Israel between August 13th and August 26th.
Now to more specific details, in the interest of being simple, organized, and elegant i have compiled all of my information into 2 links that I provide both below and on the left hand site of the blog.
The First link is a link to a simple spreadsheet containing all of my flight information including arrival and departure times and dates. you can click here or copy and paste the link below.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pKT7LBSMtrd130V92B-ieKw
The Second link is a more detailed view of my travel plans while in the countries it is less concerned with flights and more with lodging and activities. This Calendar is an accurate representation of my plans up until now, as of now i have no specific plans on certain dates, i am totally free.
I would like to plan my trip ahead of time so i don't end up without a place to sleep, so if you see on my calendar that i am in your area ( my location is displayed at the top of the day) then please send me an email at adiamantcohen@gmail.com with times and dates that you are free and can host and entertain me please be as specific as possible.
The calendar can be found by clicking here or by copying and pasting the link below into your browser
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=1ie6rbtcjkkcukvi9m7oo9thbc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
the calendar is also displayed on the bottom of this blog.
for the past few months i have been halfheartedly preparing for my trip abroad, last month i finally got my act together and began booking tickets. As of today i have many finalized details i would like to share with people and have been trying to decide the best way to do so because the information i have is not all gathered together in one place.
My Travels will begin on Monday July 28th and will end on Tuesday August 26th.
I will be in England between July 28th to August 6th
and
I will be in Amsterdam between August 6th and August 9th
and
I will be in Dublin between August 9th and August 12th
and
I will be in Israel between August 13th and August 26th.
Now to more specific details, in the interest of being simple, organized, and elegant i have compiled all of my information into 2 links that I provide both below and on the left hand site of the blog.
The First link is a link to a simple spreadsheet containing all of my flight information including arrival and departure times and dates. you can click here or copy and paste the link below.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pKT7LBSMtrd130V92B-ieKw
The Second link is a more detailed view of my travel plans while in the countries it is less concerned with flights and more with lodging and activities. This Calendar is an accurate representation of my plans up until now, as of now i have no specific plans on certain dates, i am totally free.
I would like to plan my trip ahead of time so i don't end up without a place to sleep, so if you see on my calendar that i am in your area ( my location is displayed at the top of the day) then please send me an email at adiamantcohen@gmail.com with times and dates that you are free and can host and entertain me please be as specific as possible.
The calendar can be found by clicking here or by copying and pasting the link below into your browser
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=1ie6rbtcjkkcukvi9m7oo9thbc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
the calendar is also displayed on the bottom of this blog.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WHEN VIEWING THE CALENDAR THE EVENTS I PUT IN ONLY START ON JULY 28TH, THE CALENDAR WILL DISPLAY TODAYS DATE BY DEFAULT YOU NEED TO CLICK ON THE ARROW UNTIL YOU ARE AT THE CORRECT WEEK
this is the first of many posts and an easy way to keep in touch with everyone please dont hesitate to comment either on my blog directly or by emailing me my address again is adiamantcohen@gmail.com
thanks in advance to everyone for reading this and being patient and helpful
Alon DC
this is the first of many posts and an easy way to keep in touch with everyone please dont hesitate to comment either on my blog directly or by emailing me my address again is adiamantcohen@gmail.com
thanks in advance to everyone for reading this and being patient and helpful
Alon DC
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